1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and systems for delivering electronic content.
2. Description of the Related Art
As an increasing amount of digital content is being electronically distributed to end user locations, a greater need exists for multicast content delivery capabilities. In a multicast delivery, the same content (e.g. a video or a piece of subscription software) is addressed for distribution to multiple end user locations.
Satellites are well-suited for multicast content delivery. In particular, satellites are effective for distributing large quantities of data to multiple end user locations over a wide geographical area.
A current form of digital subscriber line (DSL) technology does not distribute internet protocol (IP) multicast content without implementing layer 3 routing at central offices. Without layer 3 routing, each piece of content is delivered via a respective unicast session. Using multiple unicast sessions can be resource intensive and can cause network congestion especially when transporting video and subscription software.